Customer Reviews

What Came First

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered Carol Snow a few years ago and loved her book so much that I immediately ordered all of her backlist. Which brings me to her most recent entry - What Came First.

I am so thrilled that Snow continues to write chick lit and does it so well. While other authors have chosen to get off the genre, Snow has consistently written entertaining and completely engrossing novels that I simply adore and What Came First is no exception.

You can easily see, by the cover that this book is about children - having them, dealing with them, as well as dealing with the lack of them. In fact, Snow has cleverly intertwined her story of 3 women - who are all quite different (boy! are they!) but the two things they have in common is that they all are dealing with children issues AND they all are dealing with relationship issues (although this is definitely secondary for the most part).

Vanessa, Wendy and Laura find themselves caught up in their own lives - Vanessa is desperately hoping for a child, Wendy has two (from a sperm bank) who appear to be more than she can handle and Laura seems to have the perfect son (also from the sperm bank). Except that absolutely none of the women are happy - they are all busy wishing for something more and throughout the novel, we will discover that each woman learns a life lesson - watch what you ask for, you might get it.

I found the storyline and the characters very engaging. Snow writes for me, with characters that are flawed but also likeable - who deal with their lives the best way they can. Usually, the males in her stories are secondary and while Eric does play a fairly important role in the story, it is still the women who dominate.

This book is entertaining, all the while showing us that life definitely has its ups and downs. Snow also intertwines the life of her characters in a way that I never saw coming - but really "buckles" up the storyline.

The only negatives I have - the relationship between Laura and her son was a tad annoying. Laura went to ridiculous lengths to please her son and this touched a wrong chord with me. The other issue I had was that I found the Wendy and the Vanessa a bit whiny. I would have liked for them to have a bit more backbone. The Eric character was perfectly written - exactly the way I expected him to be.

I loved, loved this story and I can't wait to read the next book.

Having a baby is huge deal. And some women struggle to get pregnant and when they can't conceive naturally. They'll go through the extreme to have a baby. Now a days, there are so many options you can choose from to have a baby. Well that's what this book was about. This is the first book I've read that was based on artificial insemination. It's about three women that eventually end up in each others lives through sperm donation. All in need of one thing. A baby.

Each character touched me in their own ways. And I'll explain how as I introduce them to you.

The first character I'll talk about is Laura. She's a very successful lawyer whose totally in love with her son. Laura is a mom of an I believe an 8 yr old. Now her son is at a stage were he's asking her for a sibling. And she wants nothing more than to grant him his wish however the donor she used to conceive her son has not made any more donations to the bank.
Now here's where I relate with Laura. My son is 10 years old and he keeps begging me to give him a sibling. He asks for a baby sister. And it breaks my heart, because unlike Laura, I have no desire to have another baby. Maybe if I felt that I was emotionally or financially ready, I would probably consider it. Because like Laura, she fears her son would stay alone if something were to happen to her. And so do I. So you can see how Laura's story touched me. But Laura's ready to make it happen and she'll jump through whatever loops she gotta jump through to make it happen.

Motherhood is not a Baby Gap Ad.

Now let's talk about Wendy. Wendy's a married woman with twin toddlers. She has her hands full, husband and two toddlers. And like Laura, she conceived her children through artificial insemination. But it seems she feels like she got the short end of the stick. She loves her twins. But they are extremely hyper and disobedient. They drain Wendy's energy and easily becomes overwhelmed.
Now here's where I connect with Wendy. When my son was a baby and even now at times, he was/is extremely hyper. And as a child whenever he had one of his temper tantrums or went through defiance stage, there was nothing anyone can say to calm me down. Just like Wendy, I cried and at times cried right along with my son as she did with her twins. Motherhood was a blessing but at times it felt like a nightmare when you couldn't get a grip on things. It hurts me to say that, but I know I'm not the only one. So I know how Wendy felt, when she just couldn't take it anymore and just lost her cool. But the sad thing with Wendy was, her husband instead of helping, he'd rather sit in front of a computer and play SIMS. Having toddlers with behavioral issues and a non-compliance husband can lead any woman to a mental breakdown.

And lastly you have Vanessa, she was highly anticipating an engagement ring for her 29th birthday, but instead she received a mix CD. She wanted nothing more than to marry the man she loves and begin having a family. But he had different plans. He didn't want to get married or have any kids. Right there, would have been the perfect time to get out of the relationship. However, like many women, she stayed because she loves him and she thought she can change his ways. But one phone call changed everything in their relationship. The link that connects them all together. What she will do? How she touched me, you may ask? I, like Vanessa have stayed in a relationship just because I loved the person, even when their dreams weren't the same as mine. But luckily, I got out before I got in too deep.

I really really enjoyed this book. Once, I started reading I couldn't put it down. Carol did her job as an author to entertain and she did her job to research everything in the topic of sperm donation. She gave each character a great story. She made it believable. And that is why I was hooked the moment I started reading. I connected quickly with her characters and I loved that about her book. This is definitely a 5/5 stars and a Good Choice for Reading. For more information on the author you can visit her website here.

[...]

This was a Goodreads Giveaway.
I totally enjoyed this novel of humor, love, and some sadness thrown in. We meet Vanessa. Laura, and Wendy. All from different walks of life. Laura, after a difficult divorce, decided she wanted to be a single Mom, no attachments except to her child. She is a hard working attorney, and felt she could raise a child quite comfortably. She has a sweet intelligent, and very loving 8 year old son Ian. The sub plot about the chickens is great, funny and heartwarming. Wendy and her husband after years of trying to have children, decide to seek help from a fertility Dr. The resulting twins have rocked her world. There is no such thing as a normal day in the Winder house. Finally Vanessa. She's living with a man, who loves her, but doesn't want children or marriage. All that Vanessa wants, and is dreaming about. She feels inferior because she never completed college, and works as a receptionist in a Dentist's office. Eric, her partner, went to one year of Med school, dropped out for his musical talent, which he feels he failed at too. Now works at Costco!
I couldn't figure out HOW Ms Snow was going to pull these women and there stories together, but oh, does she. I read the novel in a day, I couldn't put it down. I now have to seek out her other books!!! It's a wonderful story, and I highly recommend it.

Three women and one goal...children. Unfortunately for Laura, Vanessa and Wendy life isn't always simple and getting pregnant doesn't always happen the way you'd imagine. One single with a successful career, another in a relationship that's going nowhere and the last in a marriage that's lost it's flame but each has a dream of a family filled with children and love. On their paths each discovers that they might be more connected than they ever thought possible to complete strangers who may one day be classified as "family".

Carol Snow definitely knows how to tell a compelling and entertaining story! What Came First was such an original concept that I could help but be sucked in. The only bad thing about it being so original is that I don't want to give away too much and ruin the story for everyone. Two of the three, Laura and Wendy, had to have a sperm donor to get pregnant and then Vanessa had a boyfriend who didn't want to get married or have children. Lets just say I wasn't completely shocked by how these three women were connected, but the way Snow got there was what intrigued me.

As for the actual characters, I really enjoyed all of them except for the Vanessa-Eric relationship, but I'll get to that. Laura and her son Ian, who she conceived by using a sperm donor, only want a sibling for him but need to track down their original donor. Wendy and her husband Darren having two completely annoying little terrors they conceived by using a sperm donor as well. Though Laura and Wendy were on completely different ends of the spectrum, one a lawyer the other a stay at home mom, they still connected through their shared struggles and made it an interesting dynamic. As for Vanessa, I really wanted to scream at her throughout most of the book. Who stays with a guy who is so aloof and floundering? He flat out does not want children and yet though she wants them desperately she still stays with him. To be honest, all of the characters at one point or another really drove me crazy with their choices but discovering how they would end up and the way they were connected was too much of a pull to not love the story.

From infertility to the lack of a willing partner What Came First by Carol Snow covers nearly every aspect facing women wanting children today. Told from the viewpoints of three very different women you get a look into these situations first hand and discover things aren't always as simple as they seem from the outside. With the exception of an annoying character trait or two (but who among us doesn't have one of those?) I loved everything about What Came First. This was an original story that shows life isn't as easy as it seems, but however you travel on your journey things seem to have a way of working themselves out.

Originally reviewed & copyrighted on my site, Chick Lit Reviews.

This book follows three women and their journey threw motherhood (for two) love, and relationships.

Laura is a lawyer who is a single mother of a pre-teen boy. He has always wanted a baby brother or sister, so she tries to find the donor who fathered her child.

Wendy is a married mother of out of control twins. She contacts Laura because she used the same donor to conceive their twins. Both are surprised when Laura is actually able to track down the father.

Vanessa is an assistant to a dentist who has been with her boyfriend for a while. She wants to get married to him and have children, but he does not want to. It comes as a surprise when she finds out that when he needed some money in college he donated and that he is actually the father of Wendy and Laura's children, which causes some friction in the relationship.

Overall it is an interesting book, but the thing I did not like was that it felt that the book did not really end. In this and another book of the authors it feels like you are just left hanging that there is no real finality to the book which I dont like.

The perfect chick lit book about three women and their childbearing choices that evolve around one man's sperm. The book is well written; the characters are far from perfect and are realistic. The ending doesn't seem contrived and, just as in real life, there are unforeseen twists and turns. The book flows nicely and is based on a couple of timely subjects such as in vitro fertilization and the various types of relationships women form with their children, men, and other women. Fortunately, the children are not straight from "a Gap commercial."

Well done, Ms. Snow.

A recommended buy.

Carol Snow's WHAT CAME FIRST follows Laura, Vanessa and Wendy as they grapple with issues both familiar and foreign to many mothers. Laura and her bright, kind-hearted son, Ian, love their lives in suburban California. Born after Laura's visit to a sperm bank nearly a decade before, the two-unit family would like nothing more than to welcome a third . . . but Laura, perpetually single, isn't sure how to make that happen. Posting on a website designed to link families who may have conceived children from the same sperm donor, she eventually "meets" Wendy -- a harried mother of twins.

All three women have trials, difficulties; no one's life is perfect. And that's what I loved about Snow's novel dealing with fertility, motherhood, what it means to be a family -- and what I always appreciate about her warm, rich and true-to-life characters. I probably related best to Laura, a type-A go-getter who can't accept her family won't grow. Her desire to have another baby seemed enviable rather than desperate, and I definitely felt her frustration and pain.

Where the story began and where it ended were completely different than I expected, and I love that WHAT CAME FIRST surprised me from beginning to end. Though often light-hearted and very witty, Snow's novel also raised questions about how families are formed and how love develops. In Wendy's case, especially, I could see how difficult conceiving children who were not biologically "his" was for her husband, and these troubles were something I'd never considered before. I love a good slice of women's fiction that also makes me think!

Fans of women's fiction and contemporary looks at motherhood will appreciate Snow's take on love, relationships and moving forward. If you've never devoured a Carol Snow novel, you're missing out -- and WHAT CAME FIRST is a great, feel-good place to start.

I won this book online through a blog [...]. I finally had time to sit down and read it this weekend. It is hilarious. It is also a bit emotional. If you are a woman who has struggled with infertility, or a woman who feels like she's falling behind her friends who are all having kids, if this book wasn't so funny it would probably make you cry. It deals with a tough subject without being depressing - which is a huge feat.

I only gave this book 4 stars because of the ending. I won't say why so that I don't ruin it for anyone. It just wasn't a style I prefer.

This is a great page turner. The author knows how to draw you into this story and not let you go. I found myself reading it during commericals of my favorite TV shows and skipping others so I could read this book.

Carol Snow, author of 'What Came first' keeps three storylines going with alternating chapters that sometimes intertwine. She knows how to make the characters seem real and how to make you care about them.

There are three main women characters, Laura, Vanessa and Wendy.

Laura is a sucessful laywer who lives with her son, Ian, some chickens and Maine Coone in Fullerton, California. She has given up on dating, not having that much success with it. So she had Ian via a donor. She is so pleased with Ian who she adores that she wants to have another and for that she needs to find the original donor.

Vanessa, a dental receptionist lives with Eric, who currently works at a chain store at the checkout. Vanessa has been waiting and waiting for Eric to propose. She wants to start a family. She lives in Redondo Beach and enjoys getting together with the other women workers at the office.

Wendy lives with her husband,Darren, and twins, Harrison and Sydney in North Scottsdale, Arizona in a cookie cutter neighborhood. Her children have been in the "terrible twos" since the day that they were born. She is hiding a secret from her husband is eats to calm herself down.

What ties these three women together? Why is there a baby chick in the stocking on the cover? Why do women want children?

I really enoyed this book and want to read more of Carol Snow.

I recommend this book to all women, with or without children. It is a great read.

Although I received this book as a giveaway from GoodReads, that in no way influenced the content of my review.

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Laura is a lawyer on the mommy-track. She is single and okay with that fact. She is completely focused on her son, Ian, who is gifted and an overall great kid.

Wendy has twins who behave like monsters. Her husband has long check out; he stays in front of the computer screen, playing games and such.

Vanessa wants to get married and have kids, yet she is living with a guy who refuses to even consider anything long-term.

What brings all three of these women together? Sperm. More specifically, a sperm donor. How I want to tell you more! However, I will not spoil the book for you.

This book is hilarious. Even when the book ended, I wanted more. By the way, I really hope there is a sequel. Anyway, the characters are real. The situations are real. The feelings are real. Women will love this book, especially moms! Maybe Carol Snow has created a new genre--mom lit.